After Virginia Shooting, How to Block Autoplay on Facebook, Twitter Feeds

By

Cat Zakrzewski

Aug 26, 2015 5:42 pm ET

Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. users can change their settings so videos don’t automatically play in their feeds – a tool that could be useful to avoid seeing footage of two TV reporters being gunned down.

Users were shocked today when the video taken by the alleged shooter, Vester Lee Flanagan, began autoplaying in their newsfeeds. Autoplay is the default setting on both Twitter and Facebook, and as long as mobile video provides revenue for these companies, that’s unlikely to change.